


Asleep and Peaceful are not the same

by Silvermoonphantom (Daitoshi)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Angst, Fairy Tales, Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-09
Updated: 2012-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 16:25:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/587385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daitoshi/pseuds/Silvermoonphantom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scientists investigating the ever-frozen pond dig up the bones of Jack's old body.<br/>Displeased is an understatement.</p><p>(continuation of Phantom_Wolf's "The boy asleep under Ice" )</p>
            </blockquote>





	Asleep and Peaceful are not the same

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Boy Asleep Under the Ice](https://archiveofourown.org/works/584124) by [Phantom_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom_Wolf/pseuds/Phantom_Wolf). 



> _Jack was sobbing as snow started to fall heavily._
> 
> _"Please, please! Just put my body back!"_

Head bowing, his slender frame trembled with despair. The snowfall thickened, flakes clinging to his pale hair and frost-laced sweater. The wind quieted, nothing to be heard but the scientist's work echoing over his torn-apart pond. Bunny stepped away from the frozen water, feelings something balancing in the air, his hair rising up in defense of something he couldn't name. Jack watched as someone picked up a curved bone, the movement sending very real pain lancing from his chest, stabbing him breathless.   
The scales tipped.   
  


Hoarfrost lurched up over every damp surface, curling aggressively around the delicate equipment. The scientists' breaths were suddenly foggy, cheeks growing pink as the temperature dropped suddenly.  
A wild wind whips up and pushes the bag of bones back toward the water. The diver grabbed for it, tried to jump out of the water and pull the bag out at the same time, but the ice closes in around him, jerking the black contained from his cold-clumsy hands and sucking it back into the water. 

For once it's Jack's emotions doing business, his staff forgotten in the snow beside him, frozen tear-tracks glittering in the sunlight. His blue eyes are sharp, unforgiving.

He stands up, face abandoning sorrow and embracing that of raw anger. North and Bunnymund have to yell at him, shake him so he lets up for a moment - just enough for the diver to be pulled away from aggressively closing ice, bones forgotten. The sloshing water jutts outward, snaking after the man's ankles and freezing into sharp spikes when he's pulled free.   
Jack ducked away from North's heavy hands. They're saying something, demanding he calm down, but the wind in his ears and blood pumping through his ears lets him ignore the words. Bunny wraps his arms around the slighter figure, trying to hold on as it squirmed and kicked. The temperature is still dropping, and Tooth ushers the kids away - they're not nearly close to dressed for these temperatures. They shouldn't see Jack like this.  
None of them had ever seen Jack like this. 

A few of the scientists were delighted at the phenomenon, wanting to study it further. They reached for equipment and turned it on, focusing on the drill-hole. Others believe the kid's stories - that this is not something they should mess with. Isolated weather patterns? No, that was very specific and someone was NOT happy. Water didn't just freeze like that, not without chemical saturation or one hell of a freezer.

  
Jack pulled free of Bunny's grip, ignoring the accented cursing from where the back of his head had slammed into the rabbit's jaw. He rode the wind a pace, stepping onto the surface of his pond. It crackled at the pressure and sudden cold that stabbed through such a small area. A few heads jerked in his direction. Equipment turned toward his direction, their expressions full of wonder. A few of fear. His blue eyes were sharp, cold rage curling around his gut. How dare they....

His frost patterns arched out, haloing every footprint with jagged designs and a sharp chattering of stressed ice. The more superstitious adults had already fled, the sight of source-less footprints approaching enough to scare them witless. Flurries still whirled around the area, unpredictable gusts of wind diving into hoods and biting at unprotected extremities. 

The director of the operation, Toidi had finally caught on that the phenomina wasn't exactly random. He snarled that whoever was doing this should show themselves, stop being a coward. He took a step forward, but froze when his foot lifting from the ground creating a loud -snap-

Toidi looked down, watching frost gather quickly over his pants legs. Something sat wrong in his gut.   
The man took a step to the side, backwards, spinning and looking at the ground. His...shadow? "What the hell!" He jerked his gaze up, watching as one of his scientists fell into a snow drift, swearing profusely as his shadow seemed to rise from the ground. It pulled itself from the frosted surface, black arms laced with pale white and blue shards. It reached forward, slamming a hand down where the scientist used to be. Hunched over, it watched as the man fled into the forest, toward the road and town and safety.   
Toidi nearly jumped out of his skin when a black figure - familiar - rose from a crouch, faceless black head turning toward him.   
He broke into a run, following the scientist and narrowly dodging a swipe from the man's dark reflection.   
  
Jack bared his teeth, leaping into the wind and giving chase. A small noise escaped his throat when he was jerked back down to earth, North's large hand around his ankle.   
"You said you would protect them! You've done enough! Your resting place is safe."  
Jack snarled, whipping around. Snow and ice lanced from his fingertips, slamming into the man's chest and launching him away. Bunny dove into a tunnel, avoiding a whipcrack of cold sent his way.  
"I promised to protect the children. To save their hope and joy and wonder at the world." He jumped back into the wind, snow flurries whipping up around him. The sky seemed to darken.   
"I never promised to spare the adults."   
With a twist, the wind rose into a howling gale, his pain and anger given voice into the world. Snowflakes gained the speed to bring pain in striking, a snowstorm leaping after the men with enough hubris to disturb his resting place. 

  
Later, much later, Bunnymund revealed himself. He had tracked the storm, using his tunnels as a safe path when trees on the surface would snap to attention, solid with ice. He reported a small parking lot, worn into the woods by campers and visitors to the area. Ominous now, with cars and vans piled high with snow in the middle of spring, humans nowhere to be seen. Jack had been out of his sight, but the sharp chill still lingered in the air. 

There was a type of cold that wore to your bones. Stealing the breath from your lungs, gnawing at fingers and toes until no feeling was left. The cold that crawled under your skin and into your eyes, digging its claws in until the pain of ice lashing at your skin faded to false warmth. Warmth that embraced and pulled and whispered sweet nothings into your ears until you just laid down...

and slept.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Living shadows are taken from "The Runaway Shadows" by L. Frank Baum. One of Jack Frost's legends. In the story, he plays some mischief on the prince and princess, freezing their shadows and giving them life.  
> "Jack Frost is friendly but if provoked, he will kill his victims by covering them with snow. "


End file.
